


Laid Bare

by missmayhem



Series: learning to trust [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-24 16:19:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmayhem/pseuds/missmayhem





	1. Chapter 1

It was mid morning when Javis sounded a code green from Tony's workshop.

Steve rushed down to see of he could help but, it was probably Tony's fault. He had been 'not so subtly' testing Bruce's limits and strange as it sounded Bruce had been improving.  
When he entered the basement he noticed glass littered floor, chairs knocked over but no real damage. Bruce was laying unconscious on the floor his clothes ripped in a post hulk fashion, out for the count. Tony was crouched in the middle of the workshop his back to both Bruce and the door. He was talking quietly and calmly to someone in the corner. When Steve looked past him he saw Darcy. He watched as she whimpered, curling up and backing away from them.  
"Just breathe." Tony's voice is even and calm. " Darcy your gonna pass out. Hold your breath and force yourself to breath normally."

She was babbling. She kept say.  
"I'm so sorry. I can't breath. Please stay back."

She was dressed as though she had come from her bed. Yoga pants, a tank top, and a long cardigan. Her bare feet and hands were bleeding a little from the glass littering the floor.

He stepped forward and she whimpered and moved back. Steve felt his gut twist and she whimpered again. She was hyperventaling and sobbing. Tony silently told him to stop with his hand behind his back and waved him back and out. Steve felt jealousy and anger ripple through him. This was the women he loved and he was being dismissed by Tony. Darcy whimpered again and Steve retreated. It tore at him that the further away he was the calmer she became. Tony finally turned to him.  
"Take Bruce, I got this."  
Steve felt the anger stir again he gritted his teeth and picked Banner off the floor and left Tony and Darcy alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Darcy sat up gasping. In an instant the sleep resided and Darcy was awake. Her head swam with confusion as she felt pins and needles shot up her spine and pain exploded in her right arm.  
  
She knew this feeling. 

  


The first time she had felt it she was at school. At first she thought it was pins and needles but when pain exploded in her head. The right side. She managed to stumble to the nurses office who told she had a migraine and sent her home. Later the nurse said she had begged for her mum. Her mum came and picked her up and Darcy who had never been tactile person clung to her on way home. Her mother gave her some painkillers and sent her to bed. Darcy prayed for death. 

As she was drifting off into a fitful sleep her brother came and sat by her bed, he had always been a soothing balm and she drifted off 

She dreamed of the two of them, they were sat in a meadow. He turned to her "you'll be safe, now, I promise. I'll keep him busy, just get out as soon as you can and don't tell anyone. She sat and watched as walls sprung up around her. They were glass at first but more and more layers were added til she couldn't see the meadow or the sun.

When she awoke in the morning her brother was asleep in the chair next to her bed guarding over her.

She stay there watching him until he awoke. When he did, again the look in his eyes was cold and void of feeling. then he vanished, and went back to sleep  
  


A few hours later darcy woke up the pain gone and mother was dead. She had take a drill to her temple. Her right temple.  
Her father, in his grief focused on her brother, Jason and Darcy was swept aside. Darcy had felt both the pain and the torment of her father and brother. Her father simply never made the connection.

Darcy stumbled to the elevator and pushed the button sending it down into the basement where Tony's workshop was.

She had worked hard to graduate early so she could escape to college. She knew if her father found out she was as good as dead. It had worked. She had worked hard to be normal. She had practiced controling her powers. She got good at shutting it off.

The doors pinged opened, she ran into the workshop. It took her a second to take it all in.

Tony was fiddling with one of his hand repulsors. It started to spark, Tony's brow furrowed as he leaned in. Bruce was sat at Tony's computer. His yell for Tony to move away was lost as the repulsor started to whine. Darcy ran forward and knocked Tony to the ground as soundwave rippled out from the hand device. As the ripple moved outward it smashed the glass it hit Bruce knocked him back, his hands round his ears trying to protect them..  
She had grown into her powers, secretly learning to control them, the walls her brother put in her mind helped. She used them to cut herself off when she needed the break. She got good at skimming across people, learning to dip her toe in, so to speak.  


Tony landed with a thud under darcy. The sound of glass smashing set her on edge. Her eyes wide in terror as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over to protect her from the glass raining down on them. 

The pain darcy had felt weakened the walls in her mind. 

The shock and terror of the shockwave brought the barriers crashing down and now, Darcy was exposed like a raw nerve. 

The phyiscal contact with Tony overloaded her already irratic emotions. 

She shuddered with the range and depth of emotion as her gift recognise three different people in the lab, Tony, Bruce and the Hulk.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony could feel Darcy tremble and shake beneath him. He felt the glass cut the skin on his arm where he had pushed the sleeve up.

When the glass settled around them. Tony looked at Darcy still shaking under him. He fought to control the fear, confusion and adrenaline coursing through his veins. "So, come he often." He asked letting the 'old familiar charm defense mechanism' give him a few more seconds to process. 

She whimpered and pushed him off "Hulk" she rasped out shaking even more. 

Tony, back to business, jumped off her and with a "stay back", he ran over to Bruce.  
Who was face down on all fours, his muscles expanding, his lab coat and shirt straining, the seams ripping as the hulk appeared. Bruce or what was left of Bruce looked over his eyes concern and Tony swore "oh fuc-" which was drowned out by a roar coming from the hulk. This was not going to be good, he thought.

They had made some real progress with the hulk, but they always had room and control. This was an uncontrolled change and Tony really didn't know if hulk would know him or if he would even care.  


Bruce started to roar but by the end it was full blown hulk.  
Tony did a quick stocktake.  
Darcy, behind him totally freaked out. Hulk, angry and scared, about to rum rampart in his workshop which wasn't nearly big enough for the hulk.

Hulk didn't like small spaces, Hulk like to jump and run. Hulk didn't like it when Bruce was in pain and tried to find the cause. 

The hulk not seeing anyone other than Tony advanced and raised a hand to smash

Tony ducked. Bracing himself for the hit. It never came. Suns he looked up he tried to make sense of the scene in front of him but failed. 

The hulk had a look of confusion as he stared down at darcy's hand, which was touching his foot. He swayed and began to shrink, once pink and Bruce again, he collapsed Out for the count. 

Darcy scrambled a way into the nearest corner holding her hand, the one that touched bruce to her chest, she pulled her legs up and wrapped her other arm around them, holding herself together.

Tony crouched down and checked Bruce's pulse. It was slow and steady and normal,  
Huh? That's interesting, he though as he through blanket over him.

He moved towards Darcy without looking up darcy seemed to know where he was. And as he moved closer to her she backed away. "Don't come closer"

"Talk to me kid."

"I'm an empath."  
"And you just de hulked Bruce."

She whimpered.  
"What do you need."  
She breathed deeply shaking her head.  
She looked up at Tony her eyes green. "I need you to stay calm and keep everyone back."  
Tony fought the urge to step back but Darcy felt it. She flinched slightly at his reaction and Tony forced himself to really look at darcy. He looked past the colour in her eyes and the young women he had grown to care about. He felt the fear melt away as he chest began to ache for her. Her eyes became shiney and tears rolled down her face as she acknowledge the emotion he felt. "Don't you need me to leave." He asked calmly. "Please don't" she whispered a tear tracked down her face behind him he heard the elevator doors open with a ping. 

Darcy sucked in a deep breathe almost bracing herself. Her face became panicked as Steve walked into the room. He breathing became shallow and she wedged herself further back and let out a sob. She kept eye contact with Tony even as he put his hand up to keep Steve away.

 

Once Steve left Darcy stopped sobbing, her breathing return to almost normal. She curled up tighter. Her arms wrapped around her legs, her head down again.

"So you had a bad feeling about Beth or did Beth have bad feelings towards Steve?"  
Darcy looked up.  
Tony was sat in his chair. Looking at her, analysising her.  


Darcy clenched her fist. "I don't read people, that's rude." Her voice dripping with indignation, "There's no point. It doesn't work like that." The sentences came out stunted  
"So tell me." he challenged.  
"Really?? Right now?" Darcy said disbelievingly. "I'm struggling to not go postal on you and want to chit chat?"

"We've got time." Tony shrugged.  


Darcy snorted angrily. "You want to know how it works, fine!" Her normal soft and happy voice sharper and full of anger.

"What ever you feel I feel it too. Sometimes its like an echo, faded.... distorted. Sometime it a wave, it crashes over me and I feel like I'm drowning. I can't breathe and I find myself lost in the tide. it takes over and I can't trust myself. So no I don't read people." Darcy rolled her eyes at Tony. "I didn't read Beth. I didn't need to, I felt guilty when ever she was around." 

"And today," Tony prompted.

Darcy looked away.  
"So you came down here in you PJ just as I was about to get knocked out and at the mercy of the hulk and that's what? A coincidence?"  
Darcy remained silent.

"That quite a show of power, kiddo we should get in touch with the X-Men. They might be able to help."


	4. Chapter 4

Darcy's laugh started low and bitter. Tony felt a fission of anger boil within his veins. he felt hot, like he was burning up.

"I think the X-Men have done enough damage." Her voice is low and deep.

Tony felt his hands clench and his heart pound. He felt angry, so angry. He wanted to.. to... He didn't know but he fumed, wanted to lash out at something, someone. He started to pace. He felt like an animal, caged, trapped, lashing out blindly in lain. He felt hate, it boiled in his veins.

 

"Tony look at me." Darcy's voice was a little panicked.

He couldn't, the hate and anger had hold of him, his hands tingled he wished he was wearing the iron man suit. He wanted to destroy. He wanted to bring pain and destruction to everyone who ever dare to cross him, to hurt him. He wanted to crush them all, his clever mind thinking of new weapons to build, weapons that he can keep. He will cruch them all, reduce them to nothing but ash and dust to be blown away in the wind and forgotten.

"Tony." Darcy was infront of him her hands on his face.  
"Tony breath." She said quietly.  
He stared into her eyes, they were wide with worry and regret.  
he breathed in big glups of air as the anger faded. Each breath bring back rational thought. His mind catalogued the world around him  
Her hands are cold.  
Tears are tracking down her face as she cries silently.  
His workshop in ruin  
His nails are digging into the flesh of his palm.  
The hum of the arc reactor in his chest.

When the anger's gone, he can feel the echo of sorrow and guilt before he is calm and back to normal.

There's a whisper of something, of herself that gets left behind. It's dread and acceptance, lost and loneliness. She shivering in front of him waiting. Just waiting.  
He knows she can feel his fear. He knows she's expecting him to turn away from her, of the little she had let him see, accidentally revealed, she is used to people turning away and rejecting her.

And she's waiting, her control slipping as she waits for him to step back, to show her the door, to ask her to leave. 

She would. She would turn round, walk out, and keep walking.

Tony does the only thing he can.

He takes a step.


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy stands there waiting. He's going to tell her to leave. She waits for the pain to bloom as she hears the words 'get out' or 'freak'.

It's differant this time. This time she wants to stay. This time she not just leaving a place but a home, not just walking away from people but friends. She let herself get too attached. 

So she waits. The anger she stole from hulk fades into dread. She wants to walk away before she is told to, knowing it will hurt less if it's her choice, but she can't make herself leave

For once she doesn't want to leave. For once she has something to lose, someone to lose. 

Tony takes a step and before she can see which way he steps she closes her eyes. Unable to watch him walk away from her.

But she feels the distance grow between them. And it cuts her heart into pieces. Her head bows in defeat.

In her distress she misses the noise of fabric being gathered. She misses Tony coming closer to wrap a blanket around her shoulder.

She sags with the weight of relief, with the weight of kindness. 

She's utterly drained and he draws her into a hug. She buries herself in to his chest taking comfort in the quiet hum of his reactor. It's familar and comforting. A feeling of home.  
She feels something stirring in her chest it warm and bright, and makes her happy, it takes her a moment But its hope.   
She feels hopeful.


End file.
